Baby Shower Games (or lack thereof)

Last weekend, I hosted a baby shower for my beautiful sister whose first baby is due in April. Thankfully, she, like me, is not much into silly shower games, so I was off the hook with having to fill disposable diapers with melted candy bars, or have string on hand for people to guess the size of her gorgeous baby belly, or...whatever else people typically do at baby showers. One game we've enjoyed at various showers, however, is the clothespin game.

The clothespin game is simple. Each shower guest is given a clothespin to clip on to their clothing. A words is designated for the game. If you hear someone say the word, you take their clothespin(s). If someone hears you say the word, they take your clothespin(s). At the end of the shower, whoever has the most clothespins wins a prize! The word we designated for Auntie Nay-Nay's shower was "cute".

Even though we weren't doing games, per se, I wanted to do something special to "shower" my sister and her daughter with love and good energy. Something to welcome her daughter into the circle of women there to celebrate my sister's journey into motherhood, and her daughter's journey into life. I thought of asking each guest to bring a bead that represents something about their relationship with my sister, or motherhood, or birth, and then having each guest present the bead, explaining its significance, and then adding it to a string that my sister could wear as a necklace or just hold on to during labor and birth. While I liked the idea, I knew it might seem a little too "woo-woo" for some of the guests, and perhaps even the guest of honor!

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My sister mentioned that she had "pinned" a cute shower idea, so I went looking through her Pinterest boards and found these fill-in-the-blank "Wishes for Baby" cards. It took a little while to get everyone gathered to pass out the cards. There were a few kiddos in attendance, so their moms got them situated with Delilah and her Daddy for play time down stairs so the ladies could focus on the mama-to-be. Once we were all situated with food and beverages, I passed out the cards, explaining that when we finished, we'd all read them out loud.

The room got quiet as we all thoughtfully wrote out our wishes for my sister's daughter, my niece. Suddenly through the silence, there was a burst of laughter and song from down stairs, where my husband had supplied all the kids with Ukuleles and was giving a bit of a music lesson. We all laughed, and I had a moment of pride as people commented on what fun they must be having, on how good my husband is with kids, on what a good Daddy he is. I'm pretty sure at least one person lost their clothespin in that moment.

When we finished our cards, we went around the circle introducing ourselves and reflecting on how we know the mama of honor before reading our cards. Some sentiments were silly, some were serious, some witty, some wise. All were filled with love and positivity for the new life joining our family. The room was filled with laughter, tears, and a few more lost clothespins as we made our way around the circle.

Auntie Nay-Nay & Mama

While celebrating my sister as a mother, I couldn't help but wonder if one day, I might be sitting in a similar circle, celebrating my niece's own journey to becoming a mother. Little Harper, you are already so loved by so many. I am so honored to help support your mother as she brings you into the world, and I can't wait to be your Auntie and watch you grow. I hope I'll be as good an Auntie to you as your Mama is to your cousin!


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